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Monday, 30 December 2013

The new 'Super-food' that is inexpensive to buy and grow

Kale, yep kale. Many people will wince at the thought of eating mounds
of the leafy greens but really you don't have to! Firstly before we get in to
the nitty-gritty details of this wonderful vegetable I must make some of my
personal opinions clear. At the moment many families have no idea how to make
vegetables appeal nicely for their kids or know how to spice it up a bit but I am going to change that. There is the
image in many peoples head of a pile of overcooked sludge when we speak about
vegetables but really it can easily be changed with some imagination and
creativity (or a cook book). If you want to skip my complaining go down to the
fourth chapter.

Leafy greens are usually served as salads. How boring?

For example with
Kale you can make a delicious kedgeree along with some great flavorful
haddock which immediately changes the taste that you may not like of the kale
into a scrumptious meal. I have this idea in the back of my head for doing a
video series on turning boring vegetables into amazing mouthwatering meals that
are healthy. All these fast food restaurants serve you rubbish quality meat and
fatty junk. You are what you eat and you don't want to turn in to junk do you?

There is a crisis going on in the world and it needs changing. One final
personal view before we get in to why kale is amazing is a company that makes me turn in my sleep, well almost. Don't
Cook Just Eat. It is promoting for people to stop cooking their own meals and
eating food that is terrible for your body and I disagree with that completely.
You can almost see it as promoting preventable death. Heart disease is the
world's leading killer both in high and low income countries according to the COPD Health
center but this can easily be prevented.

Okay so here in Britain kale sales have increased by 32% in the
past year and this is expected to continue. But why, why are people so fussed
about a green leaf? I have listed 10 things why:

1)
Kale has more iron per
calorie than beef

2)
Kale has more calcium per
calorie than milk

3)
It is high in Antioxidants

4)
Low in calories, fat and
carbohydrates

5)
High in Vitamin A,C and K (10X more vitamin C than Spinach)

6)
High in potassium and
other minerals

7)
Helps grow strong bones

8)Reduces the risk of heart disease and
cancer

9)
Helps weight loss

10) Lowers
cholesterol

There you have it. Those are the main reasons why it is a super-food. It
is amazing for such a plain vegetable to have so many important uses and powers
it is a bit of a hero, Captain Kale!

Kale can be eaten in many ways. A growing trend is juicing and luckily
my sister received a power juicer for Christmas so hopefully I will be able to
do a bit of juicing. Another easy way of eating this leafy green is by boiling
it lightly and then whenever you like drain it out and add some melted butter
and there is an easy side-dish that anyone can make.

How to grow Kale in a Pot

Choose a fairly large planting pot and fill it using organic compost.

Make a few 1/2 inch deep holes and put in a seed and another for luck.

keep the pot in a sheltered place and away from strong sunlight and make sure you keep the soil watered and moist.

If the seedlings get too bit transplant the smaller ones into other pots so you get even more Kale. You can begin harvesting in about 2 months after transplanting the seedlings.

I really hope you found this blog post interesting and please share it with your friends and on social media to spread the word about this great vegetable that is really easy to get and grow. Have a great day!